Ohana Kava Bar — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

UPDATE: I'm truly impressed with how quickly this was addressed! I stopped by Ohana today for a kratom tea to-go and immediately noticed the new sign stating 18+ only after 7 PM. I decided to stay to enjoy my tea there.

For the first time in a while, I had an absolute blast here! The new policies feel incredibly fair, creating such a relaxed, chill, and enjoyable atmosphere. I could easily hold a conversation tonight, the live music was fantastic, and the overall vibe was just right.

Huge thanks for genuinely listening and making swift adjustments to enhance the experience—it truly made all the difference! This is definitely staying my go-to kava bar now! I really want to love this place—I come here often and appreciate the atmosphere they try to create. However, it often feels more like a daycare than a spot to unwind with friends, unfortunately. Nearly every visit, there are young children crying, running around, and even throwing things, which can be pretty disruptive. I totally understand the appeal of a family-friendly space, but it would be great if parents that frequent this place ensured their kids were supervised instead of the parents sitting across the room not addressing any behaviors, as I often witness. As well as staff that do not address this either and allow it to continue. When children are left to run wild, climbing under tables and shouting, it makes it really difficult to relax or even have a conversation. For example, earlier tonight I got hit in the face with a paper airplane that an unsupervised child was playing with and also had to move to another table as two unsupervised children were yelling and I couldn't hear the person across the table from me. Sadly, as much as I enjoy the concept of this place, I may start looking for a different Kava Bar where my friends and I can truly have a good,...

I've been thinking about what to say about my experience here and why it left a negative taste in my mouth for a while.

The bar tender/employee pushed for us to start with a fairly large drink. He said that a lot of people have a "reverse tolerance." I felt like it was pretty aggressively pushed that, if you are new, that is the drink you start with.

He said he'd check in on us after about twenty minutes.

That drink was way too much for me. I actually had a pretty terrible experience with the "high". It wasn't until much later, when my partner said it was wearing off for then, that it became anything resembling pleasant. This was over an hour after I consumed my beverage.

Twenty minutes in, I am miserable. The barista/employee never did come in to check. Had he, I would have asked if it was 'normal' or if I needed to see a medical professional.

I waited it out. It wasn't until almost three hours, and a big meal, later that I felt 'normal'.

Now, this is where I struggled the most. I want to go back. I want to give them a fair shot. Sure, I won't when that person is working again. I will order the smallest portion I can (and get more if nothing happens).

As a side note: I found the lack of cultural information frustrating. Their website/menu says Kava is served in a bunch of locations but doesn't offer respect/tribute to those cultures. They don't even link to more information.

So, two stars. I bumped this up from one because the other customers were great. Super helpful and friendly. There has to be something good there if it attracted nice...

This place has a great vibe to it and the prices are reasonable too. The fam and I didn't get any food but we did get "the kraken", a strong kava drink and a "high tide", a half tea and a half kava drink.

The drinks had an earthy, rooty and pleasant taste to me. They do have flavoured syrups you can add if you don't like earthy drink tastes. They also have other kava infused drinks as well.

They also have kombucha, teas, coffee, and herbal concoctions like elderberry and lemongrass drinks. I think they have a few barfair items too for food.

The staff are kind and good-hearted people and if it's your first time there, they will treat you like family. Everyone who comes through the doors is included.

They'll tell you exactly what the drinks have in them and what they're good for etc.

I highly recommend this place if you're in the area, like I said, it has a great chill environment and the kava actually helps you feel relaxed, at least for me. So bring your friends or just yourself and you won't be...